What’s better than e-mail, e-dating or Eazy-E? eShave’s line of skincare/shaving products!

Recently, eShave’s line of After Shave Soothers won Best Post Shave Lotion by Men’s Health magazine in their 2012 Grooming Awards. It marked the third year in a row that eShave was recognized by Men’s Health, previously winning Best Pre Shave Lotion last year.

The After Shave Soother was probably my favorite of the multiple shave products I’ve tried from eShave. It was at least the one that distinguished itself the most from other similar products. So many after shaves on the market are not sufficient with just one application — after you put it on once, some of them even dry your skin out even further and you’re forced to apply some lotion or an additional product. But the eShave version was thick without being gloppy and felt great. I only had to apply one coat and I was good. My skin wasn’t dried out 15 minutes later; it was still firm and moist. It just felt good.

There are four different scents of After Shave Soothers: Lavender, Verbena Lime, Orange Sandalwood and the Fragrance Free version. For this review I tried the Verbena Lime.

After I shaved, I loaded up my face with the After Shave Soother — not that I had to out of necessity, it just felt really good on my skin. The soother is marked as “greaseless” and it is definitely that. Another nice feature is that it doubles as an all-over body moisturizer for areas that can be notorious for dryness (i.e., ears, elbows, nose and forehead). I even put some on my shoulders and arms after getting out of the shower.

But as an after shave soothing cream/gel is where this product excels. It made my skin feel taut without feeling dried out, and extended the fresh shave feeling that you should be getting every time you shave. More than that, it created a layer of protection on my skin prior to venturing out into an outside world renowned for its savagery.

The Verbena Lime is the most popular scent and I could see why. It had a crisp scent that actually dissipated so soon that you wanted to smell it again. To say it isn’t overpowering is an understatement. It’s just enough for a quick, good smelling whiff for when you have to share an elevator ride with that attractive woman from your office.

To order yours today, or to check out the full line of eShave products, click here.

I’m not going to screw around here, guys. The Schick Hydro 5 Power Select razor is the best razor I have ever used. I could seriously just end the review right there.

Was it the battery-powered, multi-speed vibration that gently eased and spread the whiskers from my face during the shave? Was it the LED Digital Interface that lit up to show the multi-speed vibration between three different settings? Was it the “Fliptrimmer” razor with the flip-top back that allowed me to flip back and shave to the contours of my face and precisely trim any area I desired?

It could have been any one of those aforementioned features, but there were a few more in particular that caught my attention.

How about five blades, hence the name Hydro 5? For years, I have been using the Gillette Mach 3, with nary a negative thing to say about it. But I had never used a razor with five blades before; I immediately realized that three were inferior. Yes, five is more than three, wisenheimer. But I mean in terms of feel. And not just on the relatively contour free, non-sensitive areas like your neck or sideburns.

For me, the most sensitive area is where my mustache would be if I could grow one (if I were a man), i.e. the area right below my nose, above my upper lip. I anticipate this will be a painful exercise literally every time because it has been for about 15 years; the only way to numb the pain was to load up on high quality shaving cream (or whiskey) and have at it.

But with the Hydro 5, I glided over that area with absolutely no problem, and almost no friction — I couldn’t believe how well it worked. The combination of slight vibration of the razor with the ridiculous amount of blade-age left me with mouth agape in amazement. Almost on cue after I finished my shave, a neighbor came over to my house and used the bathroom. He came out holding the Hydro 5 in hand (which I had left on the sink), accompanied with a look of bewilderment on his face.

“Five blades! Five fucking blades, man?” he sputtered. “That is why you have such a clean shave — those grimy hairs don’t stand a chance!”

What aided those five blades was the Hydrating Gel Reservoir at the tip (which is water activated), just preceding the five razors. If there was ever a gimmick, I swore this was it as I perused the package prior to opening the Hydro 5. As men, how many times have we heard about “cooling gel” or some other “lubrication strip” that proves to be nothing but slick marketing?

Not only could I feel the effects of the gel, but I could see the gel coming out of the razor as I pressed it against my skin. The gel is comprised of vitamin E and aloe, which is even more soothing in use than it sounds in print.

The most amazing thing about the Schick Hydro 5 Power Select is that it retails for only $12.99. Even though it’s priced along the lines of a disposable razor, just holding it in your hand and feeling the weight of it proves that it is anything but and can hang with any of the overpriced razors on the market.

The following day I had two separate people comment on how smooth my skin looked, with one person asking me if I had “gotten a haircut or something because I looked different.”

Buy the Hydro 5 Power Select from Schick. It is the best money you will ever spend on a razor. For more information, click on this link.

Duke Cannon’s Big Ass Brick of Soap is the coolest soap you’ve never heard of, let alone actually used to clean your mangina.

I was in love with Duke Cannon the minute I read about the product and the slick-ass advertising. In the words of those on Duke Cannon’s Team, “The only ‘axe’ he would ever use is for cutting down trees.”

Do you know why? Because Duke Cannon is a MAN; not a kid on MTV with a hairless chest and perfect abdominals. Duke Cannon earned his chest hair by doing hard man work over the years and there’s no damn way he’s going to be conned into being embarrassed that he has it.

But what about the soap? Is it any good, or is it a POS product that survives only off great marketing, like the pet rock, Crystal Pepsi or Kim Kardashian before it? I was eager to find the answer.

In an era where men’s body wash gels have taken over, Duke Cannon’s Big Ass Brick of Soap is truly that; it’s a big, green piece of soap that has a big “D” (imprinted on it, you perv) and weighs three-quarters of a pound.

As I removed it from its sheath, I was assaulted by its fragrance. But it was a good, enjoyable assault. It smelled like a high quality men’s cologne rather than a fragrance associated with a bar of soap. Once Duke and I hit the shower after a long day at the orifice, Duke cleaned all my orifices in the most pleasing manners allowed by law. The soap also had these little yellow pieces of steel cut grains imbedded in it. Purportedly used for “maximum gripability,” they also worked to exfoliate and scrub dead skin from your body; you know, if you swing that way.

The Big Ass Brick of Soap came to a frothy head soon after we entered the shower and I never felt even an ounce of guilt or regret about it. The froth itself was very thick and laid down a dense layer of awesome all over my body. When it was time to rinse, it washed right off (which can be atypical of several leading men’s soaps), but the awesome lingered long after, and made me recall a time when me were men and weren’t ashamed of it either.

The next day I hit the shower again and thanks to the girth of Duke Cannon’s Big Ass Brick of Soap, it looked like I hadn’t even touched it the previous day, which means that for a meager $15 investment for three bars, you’re going to get more than a handful of uses in exchange for your hard earned cash.

Duke Cannon’s Big Ass Brick of Soap got me clean. And after all, isn’t that what soap is supposed to do? Check it out and buy some here.

I wasn’t very impressed with the products from Minus 417, which symbolized everything that’s wrong with a lot of supposed “high end” men’s skin care products that are on the market. Just because it contains a litany of exotic sounding ingredients and is high priced ($98.00 for the kit), it doesn’t mean it’s good.

Hyped as a product that was enriched with “dead-sea minerals” and “vitamin A, vitamin E, sweet-almond oil, carrot-seed oil and olive oil,” it quickly devolved into a cacophony of ingredients. The dizzying array of natural substances that comprised the line, from what I could tell, was all hype. I can’t tell the difference between a dead-Sea mineral and carrot-seed oil once it’s on my skin, but if it’s a moisturizer, make it refresh my skin and keep it moist for an extended period of time. If it’s a shaving cream, make it easy to apply to my skin, shave and rinse off my blade.

The first sample I used from the Body Care Kit for Men was the Mineral Shave Cream. I could tell from the moment I put it in my hand, just by the texture, that it wasn’t very good. I squeezed a large amount from the tube into my hand and rubbed them together, but when I did that, instead of having the product expand like most shaving creams, it gradually dissipated thanks to the friction in my hands. So, I squeezed out even more and did the same thing, this time applying some water, but it didn’t help either. After a third squeeze, I got enough out to apply on my face, but it immediately began to sting. Not only that, but it felt like I was putting lotion on my face rather than a shaving cream. It got to the point where I was literally glopping it on my face to cover the entire area.

I started dragging the razor across my face and it came up pretty easily; I didn’t have to go over the same area multiple times. But getting the cream out of my razor was a pain, and a thin layer of it coated my sink when I was done. It was not a pleasant experience.

After I washed my face, I applied the Active Moisturizer After Shave. In addition to the scent being completely overbearing, I could tell from the minute I applied it I would have to keep putting it on, over and over, because one application dries your skin out rather than moisturizing. After I put it on, my skin was dry and flakey, worse than if I hadn’t applied anything.

Finally, I used the Body & Hair Shampoo for Men. It was akin to the free shampoo you get from a hotel when you forget yours; it just wasn’t very good.

I was not impressed with any facet of the Minus 417 Body Care Kit for Men. It reminded me of a cheap substitute attempting to masquerade as a high end product. You can put a pig in a dress, but at the end of the day, it’s a pig wearing a dress.

Check out the company’s official website for more information.

What do you get when combine organic and bio-tech ingredients with the skin pH and chemistry of the modern man? RAW Skin Care! This isn’t just a white bottle with the word “lotion” on it that you can mindlessly pick up at Wal-Mart — this is a complete facial cleansing system, specifically designed for men who know the difference.

First, I washed my face with the Blue Agave Wash. The cream itself was thick; I used a minimal amount but that wasn’t enough. Some products will foam up and expand, but the RAW did not — it had more of a balm-type texture and quality. Even when I added some water and worked it into my skin, it didn’t lather up too much; it was like a coating which reminded me of the deep cleanse that you get during a facial. After a few minutes of rubbing it in, I could feel my skin begin to open up. The scent was brisk and mentholated, and my skin felt open. I have never used a product with blue agave previously, but in addition to feeling the refreshing burn that menthol provides, this was more soothing and subtle than simple menthol.

When I rinsed it off, it didn’t come streaming off of my face, which is how I knew it was high quality. I had to use a significant amount of water to get it off, and in this regard it felt like a facial peel. Exfoliate is a popular term that gets thrown around pretty loosely, but it really did exfoliate my skin based on the feeling that began to settle in after I rinsed my face off. Initially, I didn’t feel any major difference. But about two minutes later, my skin felt tight and smooth. Not to sound redundant, but it was the feeling you get after a facial where you feel refreshed and wide open.

I applied the Stone Power next. Stone Power was described as a “skin strengthening toner” that would keep your skin moist and tight. Stone Power uses humectants to help your skin retain moisture and rock extracts and peptides to soothe and tone. As I applied it, I noticed it was similar in consistency to water (i.e. runny) with a little stickiness. I applied a generous amount because I have really sensitive skin that dries out quickly. Initially, it made my skin feel moist and refreshed, but after about ten minutes, it began to feel dry like I needed a moisturizer. So, I applied the third and final product in the sample, EviroProtect, which is a daytime cream designed to moisten the skin and protect it from toxins and pollutants that you can use multiple times throughout the day.

When I squirted it in my hand, I was surprised at the brownish red color which is attributed to the fact it contains Red Algae Extract, and it was also more of a liquid than a cream, which is atypical amongst moisturizers. But it didn’t disappoint and made my skin feel moist again, yet tight and firm in a good way. Also, it wasn’t just moist for a few minutes and then required more — it stayed moist for the rest of the evening.

Overall, I was really impressed with the way RAW has integrated several natural ingredients into each product I tried. You could definitely tell the difference between the RAW products and other chemical-laden products on the market. The Blue Agave was definitely my favorite RAW product and the most effective. Stone Power was my least favorite, but when used in concert with EviroProtect, it maximized the strong points of both.

Get your own RAW Skin Care kit today by visiting their official website.

You also probably noticed some of the Vaseline MEN’s ads with former NFL star defensive lineman Michael Strahan. Well, if you’re reading this in time, check out our contest where you can win a signed Michael Strahan football and check out the Keep your Grip Challenge Game where you can win a grand prize trip to Las Vegas for 4 friends!